Final testing before the Rouen Normandy Autonomous Lab on-demand mobility service opens to the public

26.06.2018

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Rouen, June 26, 2018: Métropole Rouen Normandie, Transdev Group, Groupe Renault, Matmut—partners in the Rouen Normandy Autonomous Lab initiative—are testing, with the support of the Normandy Region and Banque des Territoires, the first on-demand shared mobility service to use autonomous vehicles on open roads in Europe. The service will be made available to the public in the final quarter of 2018 with four autonomous Renault ZOE all-electric vehicles and an i-Cristal autonomous urban shuttle jointly developed by Transdev and Lohr.

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The Rouen Normandy Autonomous Lab service will provide extensive coverage in Rouen’s “Technopôle du Madrillet” business park in Saint-Etienne du Rouvray through connections to the “Technopôle” tram stop. The goal is to provide mobility solutions in an area to which conventional public transportation services are poorly suited, in a first-mile and last-mile approach. Users can call a vehicle in real-time from the smartphone app.

The vehicles will run on three routes covering a distance of 10 kilometers, with 17 stops across the district and a link to the Rouen public transportation system.

The four Renault ZOE all-electric cars used in the project are already being tested on open roads and are equipped with autonomous systems developed by Transdev and Renault. The tests cover all considerations related to typical traffic conditions, such as other vehicles, intersections, rotaries and building exits. The fleet will also feature an i-Cristal autonomous urban shuttle jointly developed by Transdev and Lohr.

After a period of tests, this on-demand experimental service is due to be made available to the public in September 2018, subject to obtaining the necessary approvals, and will the run until December 2019. This trial will provide an opportunity to fine-tune the technology and gain insight into usage and take-up among local residents to enable necessary adjustments.

Rouen Normandy Autonomous Lab embodies a joint commitment by all partners to invest in the future of mobility by pooling their respective expertise and cutting-edge capabilities in support of a pioneering drive to develop innovative, sustainable transportation solutions.

The city of Rouen and the Normandy region aim to offer Norman people an innovative new service that is a first in Europe and an initial step toward developing a state-of-the-art industry cluster dedicated to future mobility solutions.

Banque des Territoires sees the experiment as a tangible showcase for the “Smart City” initiative launched in November 2016 to help roll out innovations in cities and regions. Banque des Territoires teams have supported from the start this innovative project with upstream engineering to help structure the group of partners.

Transdev is a subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts and brings a wealth of expertise to the project as a provider of transportation services (operation, fleet management and customer relations) and its technologies for autonomous transit systems (supervision, user app, embedded software and smart infrastructure).

Groupe Renault is a European leader in electric vehicles and has a wealth of expertise as a carmaker and provider of smart, autonomous technologies and mobility services. The project is part of the group’s strategy of offering automated, on-demand mobility services as of 2022.

Matmut Group, historically based in the Rouen area, offers insight into issues related to auto insurance to help understand how self-driving cars will affect the future of mobility and the responsibilities these changes will bring.

A groundbreaking initiative to promote shared mobility using autonomous vehicles as part of an existing public transportation system in and around the city of Rouen

The pioneering project is unique in its comprehensive drive to build a “complete” autonomous transportation system by testing innovative technologies able to create an all-encompassing transportation system and provide an open-road service at speeds equivalent to those of conventional vehicles while ensuring passenger safety.

The system includes a user app to request transportation, along with a fleet control room, smart infrastructure and secure telecommunications networks. The operator can monitor the fleet from the control room and take action where needed to reduce the speed of vehicles or bring them to a halt. Audio and video communications between passengers and the control room will also be possible at any time.

The system was developed through a partnership between Groupe Renault and Transdev, with each providing key expertise: Renault for the vehicle and smart, autonomous technology; Transdev for the tracking system, smart infrastructure and secure telecommunications. Matmut also covers all issues related to insurance, responsibility and future regulations.

Rouen Normandy Autonomous Lab is an integral part of the public transportation system provided by the Métropole de Rouen transit authority. The latter’s close involvement in the project, which is also backed by the Normandy region, reflects a commitment among local authorities to integrate these new services and step up the transformation toward more efficient smart cities and better quality of life.

The initiative is underpinned by a drive to foster people’s acceptance of on-demand solutions that use autonomous vehicles while empowering the public to play an active part.

About Banque des Territoires

Set up in 2018, Banque des Territoires is one of Caisse des Dépôts’ five areas of expertise. It brings together within a single structure all of our in-house expertise for local areas. As a one-stop shop for customers, it provides bespoke solutions in terms of consulting and financing through loans and investment to meet the needs of local authorities, social housing bodies, local public undertakings and the legal professions. It has been set up to serve the interests of all local areas alike, from rural municipalities to large cities, with the ambition of combating social inequality and territorial divisions. Banque des Territoires is also a brand that is being rolled out across Caisse des Dépôts’ 16 regional managements and 35 territorial offices so as to resonate more meaningfully with our customers, in their neighbourhoods.

About Groupe Renault

Groupe Renault has been making cars since 1868. Today, it is an international group selling close to 3.76 million vehicles in 134 countries in 2017, with 36 manufacturing sites, 12,700 points of sale and employing more than 180,000 people. To meet the major technological challenges of the future and continue its strategy of profitable growth, the group is harnessing its international growth and the synergy between its five brands–Renault, Dacia, Renault Samsung Motors, Alpine and LADA–together with electric vehicles and the unique Alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi. With a new team in Formula 1 and a strong commitment to Formula E, Renault sees motorsport as a vector of innovation and brand awareness.

About Metropole Rouen Normandie

Métropole Rouen Normandie represents nearly 500,000 inhabitants and 650,000 jobs in the city of Rouen and 71 surrounding municipalities. It is the largest demographic area in Normandy and an economic hub for northwest France. It handles key public services, including water and public transportation, focusing on a sense of proximity and everyday quality of life while working hand in hand with its component municipalities. Building on a stronger skillset and prerogatives, Métropole Rouen Normandie is also establishing itself as a driving force on issues of national interest (such as major infrastructure) and a is catalyst for regional initiatives by implementing an ambitious development project with its different partners that will benefit the city and the entire Normandy region. In key areas such as economic development and regional planning, the project aims to rise to the challenges of the environmental and economic transition (diversification and innovation) to build a real eco-metropolis to boost employment and quality of life, and make Rouen one of France’s most dynamic urban hubs. The Rouen area is home to key attractions like Panorama XXL, Historial Jeanne d’Arc, Zénith, Palais des Sports–Kindarena and Réunion des Musées Métropolitains. It hosts major events including Normandie Impressionniste and Armada that attract visitors from throughout France and around the world. Its rich history and natural surroundings nestled between the Seine River and forestland make it an outstanding tourist destination.

About Matmut

With more than 3.2 million policyholders and close to 6.8 million insurance contracts managed at December 31, 2016, Matmut is a key player on the French insurance market. The company offers individuals, professionals, companies and associations a complete range of insurance products for people and property covering cars, motorcycles, boats, homes, liability, family protection, healthcare, legal protection and legal aid) as well as financial services and savings (car finance, projects, borrower insurance, savings plans, life insurance and more). Matmut has 6,200 employees and generated €2 billion in revenue in 2016. To find out more about Matmut, visit: matmut.fr

Transdev is an international public transport operator, born of the merger between Transdev and Veolia Transport. We design transport systems for all forms of public, shared, private, city and rural transport, dovetailed with mobility-friendly services such as applications that combine several transport options, the management of contactless payment systems on bus networks and the coordination of fleets of taxis and chauffeur-driven cars. Passenger transportation is the very essence of our company, which covers every sector: road transport with long-haul coaches, BRT, bus networks, rail and marine transportation and airports. As a group, Transdev believes that innovation is the key to supporting the changes in how people will use mobility in the future. Innovation is found in all of our business lines, including our research into energy and technological solutions such as the design of autonomous and digital vehicles.

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